Archive for February 2012
Leap Day might not seem very important, but if we didn’t add this extra day to every fourth February, our calendar would be off by about 24 days in just 100 years! Many countries around the globe have their own ways of calculating Leap Years. In China, an entire extra month is added to the calendar about every three years instead of an extra day every fourth year. Read on to learn some more Leap Day traditions, superstitions and fun facts!
Today, we are excited to share with you part two of our Q & A with Piña and Lisa, our wonderful Concord Studio foreign language instructors. Read on for Piña and Lisa’s tips on raising a bilingual child, and don’t forget to check out last week’s post to discover why learning to understand and speak a foreign language is a great way to gain insight into other cultures and ways of life.
The editorial team is in a special place called appland. We are immersed in preparing our atlas app, which builds on the many facts and features of the print atlas with all kinds of new and extraordinary snippets of information and wonderful ways of exploring the planet in 3D.
Thank you to everyone who left a comment and entered the contest, we loved hearing from you! Congratulations to Michali Lerner, our winner. This contest is now closed, please stay tuned for more!
This week’s podcast comes from an Irish folktale in The Barefoot Book of Giants, Ghosts and Goblins. In “Oona and the Giant,” the mighty giant Cuchulainn has beaten every giant in Ireland, except Fionn mac Cool, who has the ability to see the past, the present and the future, just by sucking his thumb. Be sure to tune in to see if Cuchulainn is able to defeat Fionn, and read on for a chance to win!
Today, we are excited to share with you a Q & A with Clare Beaton, illustrator of our two new board books, Clare Beaton’s Bedtime Rhymes and Clare Beaton’s Farmyard Rhymes. Clare has created over twenty books with us, and is internationally recognised for her distinctive fabric collages. Read on to learn more about Clare, how she makes her gorgeous illustrations and which rhyme collection themes she would like to work on next!
Today is UNESCO’s International Mother Language Day! We spoke with Piña Madera* and Lisa Locklin**, two fabulous instructors who offer classes at our Concord Studio, to learn why children should learn a foreign language. Please read on for our Q & A with Piña and Lisa, and come back next week for part two!
Thank you to everyone who left a comment and entered the contest, we loved hearing from you! Congratulations to Mariecor Ruediger, our winner. This contest is now closed, please stay tuned for more!
This week’s podcast comes from an African folktale in The Barefoot Book of Princesses. In “The Princess who Lost her Hair,” a princess is known far and wide for her beautiful golden hair. When an ugly, green bird appears in her window and asks for some of her hair to build his nest. She refuses, and is cursed for her lack of kindness. All of her hair falls out–what can she do to redeem herself? Be sure to tune in to see if anyone can undo the curse upon the princess, and read on for a chance to win!
We hope you enjoy a sampling of our illustrations that celebrate expressions of love and friendship—our way of wishing you a sweet Valentine’s Day from all of us at Barefoot Books.
Angela Fawcett, Yorkshire, 2008
On Wednesday 8 February my beloved mother died in York after a fatal brain haemorrhage. I was glad to be able to spend the last hour of her life with her, and to have the support of two of my brothers, Peter and Tom.
Thank you to everyone who left a comment and entered the contest, we loved hearing from you! Congratulations to Amber Guillet, our winner. This contest is now closed, please stay tuned for more!
This week’s podcast is based on an opera composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and is featured in The Barefoot Book of Stories from the Opera. In “The Magic Flute,” Prince Tamino sets out to rescue Princess Pamina from an evil wizard, but soon discovers that all is not what it seems. Be sure to tune in to see if Tamino is able to save Pamina, and read on for a chance to win!
